


Birds of a Feather Flock Together

by rambling_muse, Space_Weeb



Category: Maximum Ride - James Patterson, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura has PTSD, Angst, Blood and Gore, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fluff, For a while at least, Good Shallura, Hunk is a sweetheart and i love him, I like to make my kids suffer, Keith is uptight, M/M, Maximum Ride Au, Multi, Pidge is a little demon, Plant Manipulation, Pure Shallura, Rating May Change, Scar Tissue, Shiro is still a responsible father, Some Fluff, Violence, Warning: V intense gore in prologue, Water Manipulation, a lot of it is tho, body manipulation, fire manipulation, he also not good at flying, it's not all angst i swear, klance, lance can't cook, lots of pain, love her tho, more tags to come, not sure yet - Freeform, possible smut????, some language, wings are cool, y'know the usual, zarkon's a dick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-26 21:23:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9922679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rambling_muse/pseuds/rambling_muse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Weeb/pseuds/Space_Weeb
Summary: They didn't believe they did anything wrong, but as the years passed Zarkon began to lose his mind.--They know how to cover their tracks but how long will it be until he catches up to them?





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a beginning to every end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank @bellona_beb for making the beautiful art in this fic. Happy Reading!!

The School wasn’t originally supposed to be a bad place. Zarkon and Alfor both agreed in the beginning that it'd be to help humanity. The experiments started with full grown rats. They set out their top team to splice the DNA of several birds, i.e. falcons, eagles, owls, sparrows, herons, even the fabled Roc, etc., with rats. The rats didn't cope well with the new DNA at first, they often got sick and began vomiting all over their enclosures, strange spheres appearing on their bodies swelled with blood. The spheres would appear on the rats a little after two days of being injected with any type of predator bird DNA, after twenty-four hours of the spheres originating they popped, killing the experiment rats and leaving them looking like a target for shotgun practice.

“You know, the experiments aren’t working… Every one of the rats end up dying, we can’t even produce one successful test subject. I know that rodents are a lot different than humans, but even Coran agrees at this point. We need to change up our tactic if we’re going to get any closer to human flight and you know this… I can’t keep scrubbing out these cages, my wife is worried, it’s putting stress on our child, Zar, you agree with me, right?” Alfor asked with a touch of sadness in his voice, as he squeezed out the newly red sponge from their most recent failed batch. Zarkon turned to him while putting down one of the failed test subjects, he had drawn a bit of blood from all four of the last batch each day, so why wouldn’t he today? A small glint of apathy hidden deep within his eyes.

“So let’s start testing the rodent children. I’ve tried to tell you before that it’d increase our chances of success but you refuse to listen to me.” He sighs now setting down his syringe. “Let me try this at least.”

“Alright. I’m just… I’m gonna take off for a while. Atya is expecting to go into labor in a bit more than two weeks. Coran will be here along with Dr. Holt. I need to be there for her, you know?” Alfor stripped himself of his soiled gloves and dropped them into the hazards basket that was threatening to spill over.

“I’ll see you in a month or two then?” Zarkon asked disposing of the last of the rodent corpses, Alfor nodded before he headed to his back office to grab his stuff and head home.

**_~Five Years Later~_ **

“You can’t keep doing this every year… It’s not right. I know you miss Atya, I miss her too but you have to pay attention to Allura on that day too. These are some of the most important years to spend with your child.” Coran patted Alfor on his back, he tried to comfort the man as he cried and cried so close to the time of year where his wife had died from blood loss during the birth of their first and only child. Her name was barely legible as Alfor signed the birth certificate: Allura Juniberry Altea. His late wife had loved the scent of the juniberries.

“I know I know.  It’s just, Zar isn’t helping... He keeps insisting that we start testing on human children since the last few years have been nothing but successful. Can you take Allura out, like usually, for her birthday tomorrow? I’m just not ready yet.”

“Of course I will. She’s like my little niece.” Coran smiled painfully, a deep look of worry present on his face.

Small little feet bound through Alfor’s living room, wisps of silver hair and a harmless smile just wide enough to see the gap between her two front teeth, Allura appeared right next to Coran and Alfor.

“Daddy, Daddy! Uncle Coran taught me how to make a friendship brace-” She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the stream of tears flowing down her father’s face. “Daddy, what’s wrong?” Her smile fell and grew into a pout.

“Oh, it’s nothing, my little princess. I just miss Mommy.” Alfor tried for a pitiful smile as he pulled his daughter into a hug.

“Hey Princess, wanna show your dad what you made him?” Coran pulled on his mustache a bit, the worry still in his eyes but his face presenting a wide toothy smile. Allura immediately perked up nodding wildly. She reached behind her pulling a little woven yarn bracelet from her jean pocket.

“It’s for you, Daddy! It’s because we’re best friends and I love you so, so, so much!!” She giggled out, Alfor smiled and wiped away his tears.

“It’s beautiful. I’m never going to take it off.” He leaned over to Coran slowly, “You now have to teach me to make one of these.” He whispered as he slid the bracelet onto his own wrist.

~~~

The lab was mostly empty, save for the hollow-boned, lightweight pigs from the last few batches and Zarkon sitting in the corner. He held a syringe half full of Osprey DNA and the other half Lupine Wolf in one hand, and a small Korean baby boy in the other.

“Alfor just simply doesn't understand how important you're going to be for humanity. You'll be stronger, you'll be able to achieve flight. Little A-32, you're going to change history for good.” Zarkon glanced at the syringe in his right hand, an innocent smile placed on his face. He truly believed that this would change the world for the better.

He slowly injected the needle into the young child’s neck, arms, and legs. A-32 cried and screamed as Zarkon tried to hush the child before putting him back in his modified crib. A-32 was an orphan, his parents took one look at the little baby and decided that they did not want him. So Zarkon had taken him in, purely as a test subject. With Alfor grieving the loss of his wife, again and again, this time each year he had no one stopping him from performing the experiments on human children. Surely this young boy would have successful results. He looked down at the child in the crib still crying and seething, but he has yet to cough up any blood or mucus like the other 31 test subjects.

“You're already showing potential.”

**_~Seven Years Later~_ **

It'd been a year since Zarkon injected himself with Lupine Wolf DNA, he'd been getting more and more aggressive the past few months.

“Zarkon,” Alfor had a face of terror as he looked at his friend, “You can't keep doing this. We can't keep doing this. Look at the children, Keith can't go a night without nightmares or burning someone or something. Hunk can't even retract his talons without screaming in pain. Lance can't stay away from the water, I've caught him wandering towards the clear acids several times. I can't keep them from danger all by myself anymore.”

“You're point? We've got nothing but good results for six straight years, Alfor. I've told you to stop naming them. They're just practice objects until we get the dosage perfected. We can't just halt our studies, I mean look at me. I'm stronger than ever, I'm not going to let you stop this. I don't know why you won't just let me experiment on Allura already, she has the potential to be great.” Zarkon rolled his eyes while taking his daily reports.

“Because she's my only biological child. Atya died for her and I can't risk losing her. And they're not just practice objects, they're like my children, I love them all so much and it hurts to see them in pain.” Alfor basically screamed out the words.

“I'll prove to you to that they're nothing but practice tests.” Zarkon turned towards him, a glare that could make a child cry on spot greeting Alfor’s eyes. “A-32, D-54, front and center now.” Keith and a slightly older girl walked to Zarkon and Alfor stopping almost like robots in front of them. “A-32 eradicate D-54 immediately.” Before Alfor knew what was happening he was lurching in front of the girl and receiving a hand over 190° degrees Fahrenheit to his chest. Alfor gasped as the hand singed his skin and the fabric of his shirt together while the heat gradually decreased; Keith looked terrified.

“Don’t feel bad, you've done nothing wrong.” He offered a pathetic smile to Keith and the girl. Keith removed his hand, tears already streaming down his face. “Return to your rooms, please. I have to talk to Professor Zarkon alone. Sydney, could you gather the rest of the kids and take them to their rooms?” The girl, Sydney, nodded and turned around whispering several apologies to ‘Lord Zarkon.’

As soon as the children disbanded Alfor spoke, “What in God's name is wrong with you? You could've killed that girl, she's a precious life and you almost destroyed that. You could’ve killed me. Keith is going to remember that for the rest of his life. I’m closing down the experiments. I should have stopped them years ago before Sendak went rogue.” He gestured to the now empty room of cages and science equipment.

“I can’t let you do that.”

“What are you going to do? Huh? Hurt me more than you already have? How am I going to explain this,” He waved his hand over his chest, grimacing at the pain he felt, “to Allura? Or Coran? You’ve lost it, Zarkon. You have to go.”

Zarkon was already reaching behind himself for some of the failed dosages on the table behind him, some of the early ones that caused spheres. “You need to remember who started this.” He growled lowly, adjusting the syringe in his hand. “You can not end what you do not control, Alfor.”

“Don’t start this with me, Zarkon. You have never had control of this building, it was my father’s before me and it’s going to stay that way. Leave. Now.” He shot back pointed towards the door to the outside.

“I cannot start what is already happening. But, if you want me to leave, I’ll leave.” Zarkon smiled and started walking toward the door, syringe grasped firmly in his hand, as soon as he passed by Alfor he spoke again, “ Oh, and one more thing. Allura will be my finest experiment yet.” Alfor felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck, the DNA of a Spotted Eagle was injected straight into his spinal cord. The dosage of DNA so high that he could immediately feel it coursing to his brain. He lost his ability to speak quickly, the DNA consuming his frontal lobe, spheres already beginning to form near the injection site.

With no warning the door of the second lab opened revealing Allura with a clipboard in hand, “Father, all of the kids are accounted for, but one. Prorock doesn’t seem to be any-” She looked up at the sound of a body crashing onto the floor, her father lay on the ground twitching inhumanly, spheres appearing rapidly throughout his body. “Father!” She dropped the clipboard and sprinted over to where her father lay. He lay alone, Zarkon leaving her sight as soon as she entered.

“Who did this to you?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. The syringe lay crushed next to her worsening father. The spheres swelled so much within five minutes that Allura was there to watch them burst, spheres of blood and pus opening as she held her father’s hand. The bottom of her dress quickly soaked up her father’s blood. All she could do was collapse hugging her father, tears mixing with blood and pus.

“You’ll make an excellent new project, _Princess._ ” She jolted up as a hand gracefully weaved itself into her hair. She couldn’t turn her head quick enough before the grip got tighter and Zarkon smashed her head against her own father’s body, knocking her unconscious.

**_~Six Months Later~_ **

“Allura? Allura, are you awake?” Coran whispered looking into the now unlocked cage the glowing girl had been kept in. She mumbled something that sounded more like a grunt than actual words. Allura sat up rubbing her eyes with her hands.

“Uncle Coran? What’s going on? Am I being summoned to see Lord Zarkon?” She asked with eyes full of worry.

“No, no, I just wanted to surprise you.”

“Huh?” She let her eyes focus, noticing then that Coran had a light blue tint surrounding him. “Coran, you didn’t.” She whispered not knowing if Zarkon was still in the lab or not. It wouldn’t surprise her, Zarkon has spent several nights at the lab since the day of her father’s murder.

“That’s not all. Lance, Hunk, come here.” The two small boys stepped out from behind him. “We’re leaving. And we’re going tonight.” Coran offered a weak smile as he stuck out a hand. “It’s time that we found your kingdom.”

Allura couldn’t hold back her tears, this was the first time she’d felt even a bit free in six months. She grabbed his hand and cried into his shoulder.

“We’ve got one last stop, Princess.” He let out a soft chuckle and hugged her tightly.

“Hi!!” Lance perked up before Hunk hushed him.

“Shhhhh! We can’t get caught!!” He whispered to Lance, slightly worried about the noise level.

“Aw sorry.. I’ve just never met a princess before!” He bowed, a toothy grin splayed across his freckled face. Coran pulled away from Allura, smothering a belly laugh with his hand. “The name’s Lance! I will be your knight in shining armor!” Lance let his wings fly out to his sides. Allura bust out laughing at that, unable to hold it back any longer.

A door slammed somewhere in the back and the children fell quiet, Coran’s eyes went wide. “Children. Go, go quickly.” He ushered the kids out of the room, passing by Keith’s quarantine room. He dropped the keys. Oh God. He dropped the keys! “We’ll come back for you.”  He moved quickly as the small eight year old pounded on the heat-resistant glass. “I’m so sorry.” Keith screamed from inside the quarantine room. Coran shooed the children onward and out the door to the vehicle he had parked and waiting.

**_~Nine Years Later~_ **

“Lance, no!” Hunk yelled, his jaw dropping as Lance tried to flip the eggs in the frying pan. “They’re not evenly cooked!”

“Let me work my magic, Hunk! They’ll be fine!” They weren’t fine but Lance didn’t want him to know that. “I know what I’m doing! It’s not like I almost burned down the house the last four times I made mac and cheese…”

“The eggs are literally on fire right now. Look at them. Don’t you dare turn your head away, the eggs are on fire, you wasted some really good eggs, Lance. I’m a little disappointed.”

“Wait wha- OH SHIT. HUNK TURN ON THE SINK.”  Hunk sighed and walked over to the sink to turn it on. He rested his arm on the counter and his hand against his face. He smiled contently and watched as Lance threw his hands everywhere in panic. The water flew around the kitchen and drenched Lance, and the eggs. He closed his eyes and stuck his hands out towards the sink, taking the water off of his body and in the kitchen he made it go straight down the drain.

“That’s it I’m never cooking again! I’m cursed, Hunk! CURSED!”

“Well I’m sorry you feel this way.. I, however, am making pancakes.”

“Not so fast,” They hadn’t even noticed Allura enter the room, over the years she learned how to dim her bioluminescent glow at will, the only thing she couldn’t dim was the marks beneath her eyes. They gave off a bright pink radiance, the glow worm DNA in her system allowing her to glow in the dark. “We’ve got a mission. Suit up, we’re going back to The School.”

Lance immediately started shaking his head, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no not going back you can’t make me.”

“Uh, sorry Allura, I’m with Lance on this one. Why would you want to go back?”

“Rescue mission.”


	2. Rescue Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to fulfill their promise to Keith.

“What do you mean a rescue mission? You said you'd never make us go back. Do you remember what they did to us?” Lance’s eyes widen at Allura. “I can't look at my arms without seeing needles sticking out of them. I cower at loud noises because of that Hell. Why the fuck would you make me go back?” 

“Lance, I know what you're saying is true. But, that doesn't change the fact that there are still kids there. Who knows how many kids Zarkon has gotten his hands on?” Allura tried to sympathise with him in a calm, steady voice.

“Who knows how many Erasers he's gotten his hands on? Huh? Did you ever think about that? Do you know how many years we spent running from Zarkon? I can't even go grocery shopping with Hunk without being absolutely terrified that they'll find me while I'm in town. Yeah, I get there are other kids there and I understand that-”

“Lance. We're going back for Keith.”

“he's gettin- wait what. Fire boy? No, nevermind that. If you wanted to go back for Keith you would have years ago. You were perfectly capable of sneaking in there when you were fifteen, Allura, fifteen! So now, six years later, you want to go back and risk your life for someone you don't even know if they're alive or dead. I could've sworn you the smartest one out of us but I guess not, huh? Just because you want to do something that  _ you _ think is ‘noble’ does not mean it's noble to me,  _ Princess.” _

“SHUT UP.” Allura had tears forming in her eyes now.

“Wait, no, Allura, I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that. I just, I don't to go back there.” He backed up against the corner, cheeks flushed from his small speech.

“You don't think this is hard for me too? Of course I don't want to go back.” She rubbed her eyes, wiping away the unwanted tears. “Coran got information that Keith is alive. Lance, he's alive. We can't just leave him there. We promised we’d go back for him. I know it's been years, I do. You said it yourself we spent years trying to get out of Zarkon’s eyesight, and we have finally done just that. But now we have the chance to save others from him. We can't just stay crumpled up in the corner the rest of our lives.” 

“I'll help if we're absolutely sure no one, no one, gets hurt.” Hunk adds, Lance and Allura forgetting about his presence in the room while they bickered.

“It will be in my best ability that no one is injured during this mission, if they do-”

“There are no ifs. No one gets hurt. I can't lose you guys, you're my family.” He walked over to Allura and placed a hand on her shoulder. Despite Allura being twenty-one and Hunk being sixteen the boy was noticeably taller than her.

Allura sighed, tucking a loose strand of silver hair behind her ear. “No one  _ will _ get hurt _.” _

“Then, if you would, tell me the plan.” Hunk offered her a genuine smile, always able to help lighten the mood. Lance sighed and rubbed his temple.

“I don't know you guys. Do you really want to risk what we just got? For someone who might have been turned into an Eraser already?” He looked up, trying to process every possible outcome at once, overworking his brain to the max. 

“Did Coran say anything about that? Is Keith an Eraser?” Hunk let his smile fall, eyes serious. 

“Coran said nothing about that, but he is alive. We can't just desert him because he  _ might _ be an Eraser.” Allura looked to Lance with sad eyes. 

“Yeah, fine, what's the plan?”

**~~~**

“We head out at dawn, stop here for the night,” Allura pointed to a section of city in Northeastern Wyoming. “After that we'll head over to California. That's where Coran said the main School was. Keith would be held in this section here,” She pointed to a part of a different map, or blueprint really. “The keys will be in Zarkon’s office here. Coran is getting Zarkon’s routine as we speak. Since I'm the smallest, and lightest, I'll be crawling through the vent system here and grab the keys from his office. Your job is to wait in this outdoor area until I come out. If I'm in there for more than two hours abandon the miss-”

“No one's getting left behind.” Hunk interrupted, “we're going there to rescue Keith, we're not going to leave you behind.”

“If I get caught you have to leave without me. I don't want you guys getting put back in those cages.”

“What about you? Huh? You'll be put in one again, Zarkon would torture you. He'd kill you, Allura.” Lance laid his hand on Allura, squeezing tightly. “We care about your safety too. You're like our sister.”

“Thank you guys. I'll do my best not to get caught.” She smiled a bit of worry hinted in her eyes.

“We won't leave without you.” Hunk patted her shoulder with a smile.

**~~~**

“Your bags are all triple checked?” Coran asked, the wrinkles below his eyes standing out more than ever with the gentle smile of love. The flock nodded, worry pushed away for the time being.

“We'll be careful, Uncle Coran.”

“I expect you all to be back in one week time, with Keith.” Coran looked the two boys in the eyes, pleading silently. “And you,” He turned to Allura, pulling her into a hug, “be safe, Princess.” He placed a kiss to her forehead, the glow from beneath his eyes growing brighter. 

“We won't let you down!” Hunk offered his best smile before stretching out his wings to full wingspan. “Your chariot awaits.” He gestured to Allura and then to his back where his backpack had mounted handles on it.

Allura giggled at that, carefully stepping onto Lance’s foot for a bit of leverage. She grabbed the handles, a task she'd done so many times before. 

Coran laughed along, waving as Hunk began to flutter off the ground. Lance being Lance took off in a run down a path way and jumped off a large rock only to spread his wings at the very last second. “Yahoo!!” It'd been way too long since he'd been able to fly like this. He soared above the trees, letting the wind destroy his perfect hair. 

“Lance. Lance! Tree!” Hunk yelled at the flying boy in front of him.

“Yeah, I know we're free!!” Lance yelled back, misinterpreting Hunk warning scream as a joyous shout. There was, in fact, a tree right in front of him. 

**~~~**

“Hunk, Lance, land on that building there. We'll rest for a bit, grab a bite to eat if we need too and then get going again. Sound good?” Allura shouted over the breeze, the air pressure making it hard to hear. 

“Yes, ma'am!” Lance called back happily, most of the pain in his arm from running into that tree earlier was mostly gone. To be fair it  _ was  _ a dumb move to fly with his eyes closed, but Hunk and Allura could have warmed him sooner! He remembered turning to the side at the last moment and crashing his left arm into the tree. And then pain, lots of pain, and then falling. He grimaced at even the slight memory.

Hunk landed first, Lance too occupied with recalling his previous embarrassing moment. Allura hopped off of him and stretched eagerly, being constrained to little movement for around five hours didn’t do wonders for the body. Lance on the other hand continued fluttering above the ground for a few moments, observing the city in which they arrived in around 20-30 minutes prior. 

“Oh my God! Do you guys smell that?” Lance perked up after landing, “Is that Tibs? Oh, we haven’t had Ethiopian food for years! Can we stop there for breakfast? Please, Allura, please?” He put his hands together, pouting ever so slightly.

“I don't know, Lance,” His pout grew bigger at Allura’s words. “We can't risk blowing our cover, you know that.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right.” He sighed, slouching now. Lance had this incredible way of guilting people into doing whatever he wanted, even Allura at some points. This was one of them.

“I am seriously going to regret this.” She audibly groaned, placing her fingers at the bridge of her nose. “Thirty minutes, and then we're taking off again. Got it? Good.”

And Allura was scaling down the far wall of the building. Lance smiled and fluttered down to the ground, he grinned up at Hunk who followed close behind. 

Surprisingly, the diner was several blocks away. Lance led the way, confident in his sense of smell. It took them around ten minutes just to find it. When they did they were greeted with a semi-large sign reading,

“Rolo’s diner? Pffft, so original, huh, Hunk?” Lance laughed a bit, nudging Hunk with his elbow.

“You can't talk. Remember ‘Lance’s Shirt Emporium’?” Allura chimed in, charming a chuckle out of Hunk.

“That doesn't count I was eleven!!” Lance could feel his face heat up. He decided not wait for Allura’s response and opened the door to enter. “Oh, that smells good.” He was practically drooling already.

“Hello!” An obviously faked cheerful voice piped up. “Table for how many?” The girl's name tag read ‘Nyma.’

“Table for three please!” Hunk popped out from behind the current starstruck Lance. Lance quickly snapped out of, regaining a bit of charm. 

“Hi. The name's Lance, but you can call me anytime.” He shot a wink and fingerguns at the girl with blonde dreads. 

“Ah. Alright. This way please.” Nyma’s smile never faded, though her eye twitched a bit.

Lance kept his grin, not even noticing the twitch. He followed Nyma closely behind as she led them to a booth near the center of the diner. The three of them sat down, Hunk and Lance on one side and Allura on the other. 

“So,” Lance made eye contact with Nyma again, “can I get those digits?” Lance got his charismatic skills from romantic comedies he and Hunk would watch together. 

“Uh, yeah, sure it’s 2 12-479-7990. I have to go now. Goodbye, Lance!” She giggled a little as she walked away. 

They sat for a few moments before a tall woman with bobbed hair walked over in an apron. “Hello! Welcome to Rolo’s diner, I’m Shay I’ll be your server this morning. What can I start you off with, coffee, water, tea, maybe a soda?” Shay’s smile was genuine from what Hunk could tell, he smiled back.

“I’d love a coffee actually. We haven’t stopped moving since dawn.” Shay offered a sympathetic nod to Hunk’s 

“Roadtrip?” She asked out of curiosity.

“Kind of?” She raised a brow at that. “We’re going to grab an old friend. It’s been years since we last saw him.”

Allura shot a glance at Hunk, he was too open, even if it was  _ little  _ details. “But that’s not important right now. We’ll both take coffee as well.” Allura interrupted their conversation as politely as she could.

“Ah, sorry. I’ll get those right to you!” Shay spoke softly, smile still present on her face. She sent a little nod to Hunk while she walked towards the kitchen.

“Did I say too much?” His voice was worried, a sheepish look in his eyes.

“Of course you didn’t, buddy. We just have to be cautious is all.” Lance offered a comforting smile and pat on the shoulder.

“You just got a number from a hostess, you have no room to talk, but Lance is right. We can’t engage in conversation, even with one waitress. Got it?”

“Got it..” He frowned a bit until the girl in the apron from before walked over with three mugs of coffee, sweetener, and creamer.

“I wasn’t sure if you all liked your coffee black so I brought these. Are you all ready to order?” Shay set the mugs down individually and put the sweetener and creamer in the middle of the table.

“Yes, I’d like…”

**_~~~_ **

“You guys go on ahead, I’ll cover the check.” Hunk smiled and shooed the other two along. Allura sent Lance a questionative look but Lance just shrugged and headed towards the door, sending one last wink at Nyma before heading out the door to hold it open for Allura.

Shay headed back over to the booth, a small receipt in hand. “Uh, hi.” Hunk smiled nervously, “I didn’t get to properly introduce myself. I’m Hunk. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He stuck out his hand in front of him trying not to be awkward.

She shook it happily, “And it was amazing to meet you Hunk. I, uh, actually wanted to give you my number. Would that be alright?” Hunk nodded furiously, his cheeks reddening. “Oh, okay, good. Keep me updated on the friend situation, okay? I mean if that’s alright with you.” She scratched at her temple a bit before she reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a small scrap of paper with number scribbled on it.

“Have a wonderful day, Shay.” He smiled bright and handed her some cash, “and keep the change.”

“You too, Hunk!” She called after him, waving a little. He exited the diner smiling and more awake than when he’d gone in. Lance and Allura waited for him outside, chatting lightly.

“Let’s go.” Hunk motioned for them to follow him as he headed back to the building in which they landed on.

After another ten minutes of small talk and they were behind the building again, they took the fire ladder up this time, not wanting to make any unnecessary noise. Upon Lance arriving on top of the roof he saw a small child, he guessed, seated in the middle of it staring directly at them.

“Oh shit.” He stopped dead in his tracks, putting a hand out to his side to stop the others as well. The child gave a small wave, and Lance immediately decided it’d be best to hide behind Hunk, which is exactly what he did. The girl sent a sharp glare towards him, scowling slightly. 

“Umm, can we help you?” Allura spoke up, taking a step in front of Hunk.

“I saw you here before.” She spoke up, never releasing her glare on Lance. “You guys have wings,” She turned her gaze to Allura now. “don’t you?” She cocked her head a bit to the side.

_ Shit. We’ve been made.  _ Lance internally panicked while trying to keep a calm exterior. Hunk and Allura shared equally worried glances.

She chuckled lightly, her glasses glinting in the late morning sun. “Oh relax, your secret is safe with me.” She threw a hand on her chest over her heart. 

“What do you mean safe with you? Why should we trust you? Who even are you?” Allura questioned, slightly losing control of her glow. 

“The more important question is: what do you want?” Lance injected.

“If you had let me finish, I’ll keep your secret safe and sound for a price-”

“Why did I know this was coming? We don’t even know him!” Lance practically shouted before getting a glare from Allura.

She sighed, tired of being interrupted. “You have to help me get into The School.” 

“Woah, woah, woah, You want to get  _ into _ The School?” His eyebrows shot up.

“How do you even know about that place…?” Allura asked, a look of pure horror taking over her former calm expression. 

“And why would you want to go back?” Hunk spoke up this time, worry displayed in his eyes.

“Umm… I’ve gotten in once before… So I know where it is. But I got caught… And seeing as how you’re here, alive and from the direction you came in, I’m guessing you’re headed in the direction of the School anyway, so what’s the harm of letting me tag along?” She spoke somewhat quietly, though determination still filled her voice. 

“You… have a point. Yes. We’re going there to rescue a friend.” Allura tried her best to calm her nerves.

“Wait- Why are we telling him?!” Lance gestured to the girl still centered in the middle of the roof, though standing now. “He could be a spy!”

“No offense dude, but why would Zarkon need spies? Doesn’t seem like his style. Just sayin- he made the Erasers. He needs stuff to hunt and track us. What’s the point of a spy then?” Hunk gave Lance a lopsided smile and shrugged.

“I- hmph.” Lance sighed and glared at the ground.

“Hunk is correct, Lance. It seems illogical for him to send someone to spy on us when we’ve been terrified and hiding from him for over nine years.” She turned to face the girl again. “Anyway, I suppose a deal can be arranged. I’m not sure how you will be tagging along but… I’m Allura, this is Hunk,” “Hey,” “and this is Lance.” “Hmph.”

“Name’s Pidge. And don’t worry, I have my own means of getting there. You just have to help me get in and out alive and in one peace. It’s better if you help me out; it’ll increase the chance of your survival and you managing to get your friend out. Besides, if you refuse to help I’ll tell the whole world about you and which direction you came from. If you didn’t think Zarkon was hunting you, he sure as hell will be now. And I don’t think you’ll escape him.” 

“Are- are you blackmailing us???” Lance gasped at the small demon.

“Maybe.”

Allura and Hunk shoot glares Lance’s way as he begins to open his mouth again. He quiets, pouting now.

“We need to take off soon, very soon. We want to make it there before nightfall.” Allura straightened her back and gave a small nod to Hunk.

“I’m ready whenever.” Pidge pointed to her backpack with her thumb.

“Good to know.” Hunk let his wings unfurl, brushing gently across Pidge with them and smacking Lance directly in the face. “Oo, sorry buddy.”

“Puh, puh. Watch it next time, you don’t have to show off man.” Hunk just shrugged as Allura climbed back onto his back. In seconds they were in the air, gazing down at the two still on the roof.

_ How is this little kid going to get all the way to The School at the same rate as us??  _ Lance thought to himself.  _ He’s tiny, he shouldn’t way much, right? I could carry him. But no, I still don’t trust him…  He’ll probably claw my eyes out in the air. Maybe I should just not do it at all. Ditch him to be stuck on the ground. Or maybe I’ll purposefully fly into a tree while carrying him. I can play it off as an accident…  _  He was snapped out of his thoughts with one sentence: “You coming or not?” As he gazed up he caught sight of unfamiliar wings, a light brown feather pattern with white tips was just above him, Pidge hovering oh-so-slightly off the ground.  _ Oh shit.  _

“Hunk, buddy, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Affirmative Lance, another winged human/avian thing is fluttering above you.” Hunk replied with one of the biggest grins he’d ever pulled. “There’s more of us, besides Keith, you, and I. Lance, we’re not as alone as we thought we were.”

“Let’s take ‘em by storm, old pal.” He let himself grin again and spread his wings, shades of blue bursting from his back. He still didn’t trust Pidge, but he felt a little less alone now. Another escapee, who would have thought?

**_~~~_ **

The School was not a mile away from them now. The sun had set long ago, Pidge seemed to be much quicker in the dark.

“We’re all a hundred percent sure on the plan right?” Allura spoke over the wind, her pink glow dim now after regaining control. “We’ll be touching down in two minutes now, got it?” She got a simultaneous mumble of ‘yeah’s in response.

**_~~~_ **

It was nearly midnight now, Keith was resting in his “room.” He sat on the bare mattress on his floor cauterizing a gash he’d gotten from an Eraser after struggling against their orders again. 

“Fuck, you think I’d be used to this by now.” He laughed slightly to himself, he could practically hear Shiro in his head telling him that he’s worried about him.

Keith heard a shuffling of feet from outside the door and immediately started to head for the farthest corner, his joints aching in even the slightest move. A small knock at the door, three pairs of feet showing through the crack. He kept quiet, maybe they’d think he was asleep and leave him alone. 

Keith was never that lucky though. The door began to creak open, black hair and an orange bandana that had been long since forgotten, “Hey buddy, long time no see?” Hunk spoke softly. 

“Sorry it took us so long.” Allura peeked up from behind his shoulder.

“But we’re here now!” Lance smiled excitedly, seeing his friend for the first time in years definitely got his nerves up.

“Hunk? Allura? I-I thought you left!” Keith let his jaw drop in surprise. He made a move to stand, grimacing a bit at the pressure on his newly cauterized leg. He swayed a bit in his steps, having to use the wall as a bit of support. He almost fell only to have Lance brush past Allura and Hunk to support Keith before he fell completely. 

“Woah, what happened to your hair?” He raised a brow, taking one of the long strands of black hair between his fingers. Keith shoved him off, putting most of his weight on his good leg. 

“Do I know you?” He snapped at the taller boy, shooting him an angered glare. 

“Seriously?” Lance’s eyes went wide. “It’s me, Lance, y’know we were best buds nine years ago. They called us the flame and water duo? Remember??” 

“Nope, don’t remember it. Didn’t happen.” He shook his head and slowly waddled over to Allura.

“I used to drench you in water and tell you to ‘cool off’??” 

“Sorry, Lance, but we don’t have time to discuss this right now. We have to get Keith out of here before they know we’re here. Come on!” Allura made a motion to follow them.

“Nope, doesn’t ring a bell.” He turned to face Allura next, “I’ll go with you, on one condition.”

“Let’s hear it, Keith.” She set a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring look. He stood frozen, it felt foreign to be called that by anyone other than Shiro. 

“A-32.” He corrected them.

“Uhh, Keith you okay buddy?” Hunk looked worried as he met the other’s eyes.

“It’s not Keith, it’s A-32. Keith is long gone. No one gets to call me that anymore…”  _ Except for Shiro _ . They fell silent, realizing how much must have happened to him in these past nine years. “But, besides that, my condition.”

“Anything, Keith, anything.”

He flinched at his name, “You have to get one other person. He’s called G-214. Shiro, I guess.” He gazes at the floor, unable to meet her eyes now. “Please.. He’s like a brother to me.” The hand that rested on his shoulder gave a slight squeeze.

“Don’t worry, Keith, I’ll go get him.” She turned to face Hunk and Lance, “Hurry, get Keith outside. I’ll get Shiro and Pidge and then we’ll be gone for good.” She gave them a nod and began to make her way up the wall to the vent in which she had previously climbed through. 

“Roger that, Princess!” Lance sent a salute her way before gesturing the way out to Keith, Hunk pat him on the back softly as they headed for the exit.

Within ten minutes they were outside, Keith hadn’t seen the sun in years. The air was clean, the faint scent of chemicals lingering in his nose. 

“Thank you.”

**_~~~_ **

Shiro paced around a bit in his cage, trying desperately to come up with an escape plan. He knew Keith couldn’t take much more of this torture. Soon his sanity would be diminishing quicker than it had if Zarkon went through with the experiments he was talking about. None of this was going to help his situation. He needed to sleep.  _ Patience yields focus, Shiro, patience yields focus.  _ He sighed and scrunched up on the floor. He shut his eyes and tried to think of nothing, it worked for a while, that is until the vent above him creaked. A bang on the ventilation cover, a screw hitting the floor. And then another, and another, until the vent cover was hanging down by one measly screw. What appeared to be a foot fell from the vent, followed by a leg.

“Hey!” Shiro whispered loudly, trying to get the person’s attention, hoping, begging to some astral force that they were an ally. The owner of the foot falls breathlessly, even with her stature her landing was silent. The woman is gorgeous, white hair in a bun and glowing pink marks on her body, she turned and darted towards his cage.

“I’m looking for someone named Shiro, do you know where to find him?” Her eyes sparkled even in the dark, the worry and sorrow as bright as daylight.

“Yeah, that’s me. Who are you? What are you doing here? You should probably go before you get caught.”

“My name’s Allura. I’m a close friend of Keith’s, and I’m here to rescue you.”

“Keith? He doesn’t have friends… he’s antisocial, he doesn’t get along with anyone. He’s never mentioned you.” He looked extremely confused, which he was, looking into the woman’s eyes he pleaded for an explanation. 

“We escaped nine years ago. Unfortunately, Keith didn’t make it out with us. But we’re here to get him out now. He refuses to come with us though unless you come as well, so here I am.” Shiro gave her a nod as she pulled a bobby pin from her pocket and began working on the lock to his cage. She worked for several minutes in silence, prodding and pulling at the lock. “Quiznak…” She whispered to herself, Shiro still able to hear it. “Stay here, I need to go get the keys. I know they’re in one of these offices.”

“I can’t exactly leave can I?” Shiro laughed nervously, “Please don’t leave me alone here. Please.” He brought his prosthetic hand up to grip the cage. “Please, if you have Keith get me out of here too.” He seemed panicked, a chance of freedom leaving him. He jumped a little when he felt her hand on his.

“Don’t worry. I promise to return.” She offered a sympathetic smile, and a light squeeze to his hand as Shiro gave a small nod. And off she was, climbing his cage and jumping back into the air vent.

**_~~~_ **

Pidge had made it pretty far without any interruptions, interruptions meaning running into an Eraser patrol. She crept along the hallways trying not to make a sound, her first patrol she ran into was near the experimental room she knew all too well. But now, now they were  _ everywhere. _ Every turn she made there was just another pair of Erasers. She could barely make it through the hallways without getting caught. She eventually found a small room with at least a dozen computers and decided this would most likely be the place she’d be looking for.

It took her a few moments to get safely into the room but once she was in, she hacked into the database without much resistance. The four years of self-taught hacking seemed to be finally paying off. Reaching into her pocket with one hand she grabbed a thumb drive. She extracted all data on the Holt family, only to be incredibly disappointed that there was so little.  _ You have to start somewhere.  _ She thought and took out the thumb drive stuffing it back into her pocket and glancing out the door of the computer room. An Eraser soldier narrowly missing her. At that moment she held her breath and kept her eyes on the Eraser.  _ I have to be more careful going out than I was coming in. Are you freaking kidding me?  _ As soon as she couldn’t see the Eraser she let out a sigh and darted down the hallway. 

It took her ten minutes of almost being spotted to finally reach the outside again, meeting Keith, Lance, and Hunk. “Where’s Allura? We gotta go, like right now.” She spoke out of breath, hands on her knees.

“Right here!” A familiar British accent sounded from behind her, “I just need to breathe for a second.” She spoke softly as she stopped near Pidge, Shiro close behind her.

“Shiro!” Keith almost screamed as he felt his legs moving towards his dear friend. Within seconds he was hugging Shiro and crying softly. “Shiro, we’re out, we’re finally out. I was so scared. I couldn’t leave you, you’re the only family I’ve ever had.” He sobbed into Shiro’s dirty white uniform-of-sorts. Keith pulled away and wiped at his eyes. “Thank you, Allura.” Shiro nodded to Allura after Keith’s words of gratitude, his eyes landing on Pidge.

“Matt?!” Shiro’s eyes widen as he looks the girl up and down.

“Sorry, no. It’s me, Katie.” She said scratching her neck nervously. Shiro had been Matt’s best friend in high school, he’d even helped him get a job after returning from the battlefield with one less arm. It’d been months since he’d seen Matt.

“You two… know each other?” Allura interrupted their moment and looked at them both cautiously.

“Yeah, I’m her brother’s friend.” Shiro met Allura’s eyes with honesty she couldn’t see through.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold up.” And just like that all eyes were on Lance. “You’re telling me your name  _ isn’t  _ Pidge like you told us? And you’re a  _ girl _ ?? How do I know you aren’t a spy after all these secrets you kept from us?” 

Hunk sighed and put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, “I don’t want to pick sides, but you not telling us anything is a _bit_ suspicious.”

“First of all, I was in hiding from  _ Zarkon _ which was why I didn’t tell you my real name. It’d defeat the purpose of even  _ making _ up a fake name. And I never said that I  _ wasn’t _ a guy.” Pidge crossed her arms and shot a glare at Lance.

“She’s got a point, Lance.”

“WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?” 

Hunk shrugged, “Uhhh… Switzerland?”

“We don’t have time for chit-chat, we need to move. I’m sure with all this yelling-” she shoots a displeased glare at Lance “that the whole lab will get alerted. Plus, two of their subjects have gone missing.” 

Shiro chuckled a bit, “If Zarkon didn’t like us before, he definitely doesn’t now.”

“You’re right about that.” Allura turned to face Keith now. “Keith, can you fly?” He gave a small nod. “I never quite asked, Shiro, but what exactly-”

“Don’t worry, I can as well.” 

“Good. Is everyone ready?” The group nodded together. “Alright then, let’s get out of here.”

In seconds they were all in the air, Allura holding onto Hunk’s backpack tightly not allowing weariness to consume her. Pidge glanced at Shiro, he looked like he was having a bit of trouble maneuvering in the air. They could work on that, it’d be okay. 

They kept flying on a hot steady wind, the school soon was only a speck to the small Flock. The journey home was upon them now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Please leave a kudos and comment down below!!


	3. Getting Settled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Flock return the begin to settle down, Keith, Shiro, and Pidge, take their own time to get used to the house that they'd soon call home.

Keith had barely made it to the ground before Lance collapsed. They’d flown for twelve hours from The School with very few stops. It made some kind of sense in the back of Keith’s mind, he had flown from here to The School and back in very little time, not to mention having to avoid all the Eraser patrols and what not. Though Keith hadn’t ever flown that far of a distance non-stop, he still wasn’t tired enough to do what Lance had done. He managed to drag himself other to the exhausted boy and with a grunt he lightly kicked Lance in the side. He grumbled in protest and rolled over, he seemed too tired to do much about it. For the most part everybody else was doing fine, if by fine one means that they could sleep for ten thousand years, then yes they were fine. Though, Pidge seemed to be a bit more out of breath than the others, but she seems fine. Hunk seemed strained and his back is killing him, probably from carrying Allura to and from The School. Shiro gave an outward appearance of being physically alright although he was still getting used to the whole flying thing. Allura had given up dimming her marks ages ago, finding that it took less energy to just let them shine.

She gently prodded at Lance’s shoulder blades, making him jump a bit, “Think you can make it to the couch, bud?” She crouched down to look him in the eye, he grunted in response and lifted himself weakly off the ground. He dragged himself on his feet to the door, everyone else besides Allura and Keith inside already, pushing himself through he fell directly on the nearest couch. He was out on impact. The rest of the group stood close, Hunk ready with a blanket, he draped it over the boy while Allura easily slipped off his shoes, almost like it happened often. 

“Princess? Hunk? Lance? Is that you?” Coran’s voice came from the upper level of the house, the voice was followed by feet hitting the stairs only seconds later. Keith freezes and scowls at the ground, how else is he supposed to react? Coran left him in that hell. Then suddenly Allura had all the energy in the world. 

“Uncle Coran!” She raced up the stairs and pulled him into a hug, “We did it. We did it, Coran.”

Before Coran could get another word in Hunk made a shushing noise while pointing to the snoring Lance on the couch. Allura nodded sheepishly while Coran let out a soft chuckle. It was then that Coran took the time to take in the whole room, three new faces. Wait- wait. Three? There’s only supposed to be one new person. Nevermind that, new friends, he put on a smile and ushered the group to the kitchen. Keith was reluctant to move, though with a reassuring stare from Shiro, he made his way to follow the group.

“Does he do that often?” Pidge uses her thumb to point back at the living room.

Coran chuckled lightly at that, “Ever since he was a little chick, actually. Lance has never been good with his wings. He’s not agile in the air and he can’t fly long distances for too long a time.” Keith snorted and rolled his eyes. “We came prepared for this.” Coran then glanced to Shiro and Pidge. “I’m not sure who you two are… But seeing as Allura trusts you not to be spies…”

Pidge threw her hands up in protest, “You’re even worse than Lance!” She groaned and crossed her arms.

“Where do you think he gets it from?” He leaned down a bit to shoot her a humorous wink to her. She refused to answer him and turned her head to the right.

“It’s nice to meet you, er, Coran?” The older man sends a nod his way. “And thank you so much again. My name is Shiro.” He shoots a finger Pidge’s direction, “That’s, umm… Pidge, right?” She offered a small nod and uncrossed her arms. “And I’m guessing that from what Allura told me, you probably know Keith already.” 

“That’s correct! Nice to meet you, Shiro, Pidge. Yep, I was a close friend-” Coran was cut off by Keith stomping out of the kitchen. Pidge seemed to be the only confused one as Keith stomped away and Coran’s smile dropped, a touch of sadness deep within his eyes. Shiro sighed and put a hand over his face.

Keith found himself wandering back into the room in which Lance slept. He sat on one of the oddly large couches, speaking of which there were like three of them and a chair. Wasn’t there only four people living here prior to today? That’s what he assumed anyway. Lance mumbled something, forcing Keith out of his thoughts and making him jump a little bit. He shook his head a bit and found himself suddenly drowsy. The couch was so welcoming, so soft, so relaxing. It was probably the first comfortable thing he’d sat on in nine years, seven months, and fourteen days. No, he didn’t count the days after he burned Alfor. He didn’t blame himself for Alfor’s death. Of course he didn’t. That’d be silly. But he did, he thought that if he’d been a better test subject Alfor would still be alive, Shiro wouldn’t be this fucked-up hybrid when he could still be human, that Dr. Holt and Matt wouldn’t have gone missing. 

“Thatsmine..” Lance mumbled, drawing Keith out of his thoughts again.  _ What? What is he even trying to say? _ Lance shifted on the couch to better face Keith, he looked completely asleep. “That’s mine.” He repeated, albeit a bit more coherent this time. Keith was super confused now, that is until he realized that the thing that Lance was pointing at, well trying to, was the pillow beneath his butt. Unsure of what he’s even doing; he reached around and pulled out the pillow. He half-heartedly threw it at Lance, which hit him square in the face. Lance made a growling sound, but pulled the pillow underneath him and with a ditzy smile, he was out again. Keith felt his eyes closing himself, the drowsiness of the flight back hitting him at full power now.

**_~~~_ **

Shiro knew in the back of his mind why Keith stormed out, it was a justified reason really, but that didn’t stop him from letting out a pained sigh before turning back to Coran who shared an equally pained expression. Yet, the older man turned to Allura and Hunk and offered a smile.

“You two must be as tired as Lance is. Why don’t you head to bed and I’ll talk a little more with Shiro and Pidge, hmm?” Both of them looked ready to protest, but then Allura yawned and Hunk was leading her out of the kitchen with a hand on the small of her back. He understood Coran was trying to clear the room, when they were out of sight he turned back to Shiro, expression more serious than before.

“I don’t doubt Hunk and Lance’s strength, it never ceases to amaze me, but how did the two of you even get here?” Coran looked slightly confused, albeit the awe never left his face.

“We flew over here, with our own wings.” Pidge chirped up, still taking in the roominess of the kitchen. The older man stood in silence for a moment, surprise washing over him, then he laughed lightly letting a grin seep onto his face.

“I know what that must entail. I should’ve expected Allura to go out of her way to help some of the others she met.” He opened his mouth to continue but quickly closed it and shook his head, as if now against continuing on. “Now, I’m sure you’re both tuckered out. I wasn’t expecting any other newcomers than Keith, but I’m sure we have an extra room or two that you can use. Follow me?” He made a small motion to follow him out of the kitchen, Shiro nodded and made his way after him. Though Pidge was a bit hesitant, still put off by the fact that Keith stormed out when Coran said they were ‘close friends.’ She followed anyway.

Coran couldn't help but coo slightly at Lance and Keith dosing on the couches. Shiro followed behind him closely, noticing Keith in particular, immediately picking him up carefully.

“Uh, Coran, do you have a room for him?” Shiro whispered quietly, not wanting to wake Keith up. Keith made small distorted noises of protest. But Shiro kept looking towards Coran, albeit realizing just how little the young adult weighed. All skin, bone, and muscle. He couldn’t help but think about how Keith must have been treated, probably worked to the bone and fed very little. Shiro found himself lost in thought, terrified of how Keith may be permanently damaged. 

“Shiro? You in there?” Coran poked lightly at Shiro’s head, snapping him out of thought. 

“Ah, yeah sorry..” Shiro spoke softly, careful not to wake Keith up. Coran pointed silently towards a spiral staircase near the end of the hallway. 

“First door on the left.” Coran spoke at the same level as Shiro, albeit a bit louder so he could hear. Shiro nodded and headed down that direction, his eyes glanced at the family portrait above the fireplace, it seemed like a real family… he hadn't felt that feeling in too long. Coran sighed and looked at the painting himself, it was one of his finest works, he looked back to Pidge and gestured for her to follow him.

[](https://ibb.co/mM37xQ)

Placing Keith onto the bed, Shiro tucked him in and headed back out to find Coran in the living room. 

**_~~~_ **

Keith flows in and out of consciousness, it took him a few moments to realize he wasn’t on the mattress at The School, and a few more for him to realize it wasn’t even the couch from downstairs. This was a fully covered bed, he had a blanket on for what felt like the first time in nine years. And honestly, it feels too comfortable to actually move. That is until he smells something marvelous. Keith has never encountered this type of smell. 

He’s on his feet in moments and frankly he considers going straight downstairs, that is until he catches glimpse of himself in his room mirror. He’s a mess, he could feel the dried sweat on his skin. The dirt in his hair, the tangles of his hair as he ran his hand through, he couldn’t remember the last time he felt semi-warm water against his skin. Keith shuffled over to the dresser across the room, pulled a drawer open and grabbed what looked to be an oversized shirt and a pair of boxer-briefs. How on earth did they know what type of frame he’d have? Eh, doesn’t matter. He shrugged to himself before making his way to the door.

Keith peaked out cautiously into the hall, not knowing where the hell he was going. He wandered down the hall quietly. A door opened to his right, startling him, Shiro appeared with damp hair in an outfit that didn’t quite fit. The shirt was a bit tight and his pants too large for his stature. Shiro looked up from the towel he been attempting to dry his hair with giving a small nod and wave to Keith, a small smile present on his face. 

Shiro makes his way to Keith, the younger boy was zoning out and was quite startled by Shiro’s sudden closeness. He snickered lightly at the bizarre mismatched clothing sizes, he couldn’t help it Shiro looked ridiculous. Shiro seemed a bit embarrassed, his face reddening, “They didn’t have any clothes to fit me, so I had to borrow a shirt from Hunk and some pants from Coran. Hopefully we’ll get around to getting some better clothes.” 

“Well for now you look ridiculous. I mean, they had clothes for me but I doubt half of it even fits me. It’s… Nice though... “ He looked down and smiled lightly at the clothing, it’d been way too long since he’d felt safe. And even though he still wasn’t completely off guard, it was still so much better than being kept in the tiny fireproof room at The School.

Keith was knocked out of his thoughts by Shiro ruffling his mess of a mullet, a brotherly smile placed on his face. Keith let the moment go on for a few seconds before speaking again, “Where’s the bathroom in this place?” Shiro chuckles softly and points to a room a couple doors down, the room he’d actually just come from. 

“Finally out and you’re ready to feel what a real shower feels like, huh?” Shiro teased him a bit, this time it was Keith’s turn to be embarrassed, he placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, “Don’t worry. Now that you’re here you never have to go back, so enjoy it, relax.” He managed to get Keith to smile again with one of his own encouraging smiles. With a small squeeze to Keith’s shoulder he lets go and heads for the stairs.

Keith awkwardly shuffles to the door in which Shiro had pointed to moments before, a small smile still present on his face. When he steps into the bathroom the mirror is still steamy and it smells oddly like flowers, Keith could get used to this. Placing the oversized shirt and boxers on the sink edge he shed his filthy School clothes quickly, tossing them in the trash as he went. He didn’t exactly want any reminders of his own personal hell. He fiddled with the faucet for a few moments before understanding how the mechanism worked, water rushed down into the tub but he flipped a small metal bar and the shower head sputtered to life. Keith stepped into the tub with caution, the water hitting his skin blissfully cold and getting warmer by the second. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, letting the liquid flow through his hair, feeling the grime built up after so long drift away.

Keith hummed a soft tune to himself as he let his guard down for the first time in what felt like ages, his shoulders began to loosen and he felt something lift off his chest. He reached out and grabbed for a bottle of shampoo, pictures of strawberries shown on the front, he dropped a small amount onto his hand and ran it through his hair. Small bubbles forming betweening his fingers, he felt peace but even so fear still lingered in his body and the urge to fight resonated in his bones. 

He tilted his head back under the water and let the soap flow down, he did the same process with conditioner and finished up with body wash. He shut the water and stood for a moment, just breathing, just being there. With an exhale he stepped out of the tub, wet feet hitting cold tile. Keith grabbed at the boxers on the sink and slipped them on, doing the same with the shirt.

After making his way down stairs he was slightly taken back by how amazing it smelled, but as soon as he made his way into the kitchen he found that it was a complete disaster, Hunk and Coran were working side by side and it looked like Lance was attempting to help. Attempting. Shiro and Allura were talking and Pidge, well Pidge, was sneaking bits of food from Hunk and Coran. He backs out and waits for a few minutes, that is until he saw Allura taking a plate of food to the dining room connected to the kitchen, not that he’d noticed it had existed prior to this event. He walked back in to find that it had become more organized Shiro, Hunk, and Coran had stayed in the kitchen and Lance, Pidge, and Allura were setting the table and placing food down. Keith stood there for a moment before Shiro placed a plate of biscuits in his hands, this only made Keith more confused than he already was. Shiro smiled softly and pointed toward an open space on the table, “Help out a little bit. You don’t have to do much of anything, just carry the food from the kitchen to the table. It’ll help them out.” Keith nodded unsurely and took a step closer to the table and, as if on cue, Lance takes the plate from him and sets it down on the table. Keith stands still for a moment just staring at the meal, this is by far the most food he’s ever seen. So, he can’t exactly help the upward curve of his lips when everyone starts to sit down. He takes the open seat on Allura’s right, the left occupied by Coran with Hunk, Lance, and Pidge across from them. With just enough room for Shiro to pull up a chair on the end beside Pidge and Keith.

It’s all too hectic at first for Keith to do much of anything, not that he knew what was going on in the first place, Allura eventually noticed this and helped Keith fix himself a plate. He thanked her with a smile and began to chow down. Shiro attempted to keep his manners but with the little scraps he was fed at The School he could only somewhat control himself. Keith on the other hand. Keith straight up didn’t care and was eating like a complete madman. Pidge, thankfully, stopped at plate number two. Lance and Hunk were on their third but almost full unlike Keith and Shiro who didn’t want to completely eat them out of house and home.

When Keith was almost done with his third plate he felt a hand in his hair, giving a death glare in Shiro’s general direction he placed his fork down. Shiro tried to muffle his laughter but was really poorly doing it. 

“Why is your hand in my hair?”

“I just noticed you didn’t wash it all the way. There’s still soap near the scalp.” Shiro chuckled out with a shrug, pulling his hand out of Keith’s mess of a haircut. Keith himself runs a hand through his hair, nothing felt wrong at least not to him, though he still felt foreign embarrassment crawling inside of him. Allura giggled quietly next to him as Shiro offered a lopsided grin. It almost felt as if Shiro was teasing him.

“Not cool, dude.” Keith huffed.

“Okay, okay. But you’re really uptight right now. What did I say earlier in the hall?”

“To… relax?” Shiro nodded.

“That’s right! And what are you not doing?”

“I don’t know… Relaxing?” 

“Right again! You’re on fire.” Keith panicked and looked down at himself, was he really on fire oh God what if he was? This made Shiro laugh, again. “It’s just a phrase , Keith.” Keith stopped and sent another glare. Because seriously? Shiro’s having way too much fun with this.

“It’s not funny. I could  _ actually _ be on fire you know. And last time I checked this entire table is made out wood.” He turned his glare to the table now, not wanting to look up. He can still hear Shiro’s muffled chuckles, that is until he jumped at the nudge on his left shoulder. He turned to face Allura who held out a hair tie with a smile.

“You might want to put your hair back. You might have to actually go wash it again if you get any food in it. I’m actually kind of surprised you’ve held out this long, and you’ve eaten this much. You’re not full?” He shook his head lightly at her question.

“I’m pretty sure I can eat a lot more, too. And, uh, thanks… I guess.” He took it and tied his hair back in a loose ponytail. He goes for another biscuit and feels eyes on him, glancing up he caught Lance’s eye. Lance was staring at him. Intensely staring at Keith. “Okay, what’s your problem?” The words were sharper than intended, a bite even he could feel pursing out. Lance looked up and glared again, but doesn’t protest that there  _ isn’t  _ a problem.

“Why don’t you remember me?” Keith tried not to roll his eyes.

“That again? Why do you care so much?” Keith snarled, returning Lance’s glare easily.

Hunk looked up, a guilty look placed on his face, it was rude to interjet after all, “Well, I mean… I figured if you remembered any of us, you would at least know Lance. You guys played all the time together, when Zarkon wasn’t pulling you away.. And… Whatnot….” Hunk trailed off as soon as he noticed the look of terror on Keith’s face at the mention of Zarkon. Lance cleared his throat to get Keith’s attention back on him.

“So like, it seriously bugs me why  _ I’m  _ the only one you can’t seem to place.” Keith shrugged and turned back to his food, finally picking up his fork again.

“It’s not my fault you slipped my mind. You’re pretty forgettable, really.” He peaked up to find Lance taken aback, which granted Keith the opportunity to give a shit eating grin. Shiro. Shiro looked like he was ready to embrace to cold confines of death. And Pidge was getting there.

“You take that back! Admit it, I’m the most interesting person you’ve ever met!” Lance pouted and crossed  his arms.

“I mean… You’re one of the only people I’ve ever met; I’d hardly count any of them people.” And just for a millisecond there is a glance of hope in Lance’s eye. But then Keith sent a smirk to Pidge and Lance knew he was done for, “But Pidge is by far the most interesting.”

She glanced up briefly, “Oh, nice.”

“What?? You’ve known me since experimentation and the girl you met today is more interesting than me??” Lance uncrossed his arms to gesture at Pidge with both.

“I have to admit I’m kind of hurt.” Coran mumbled, though Keith couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.

“Me too..” Okay, yep Hunk is definitely not joking,

“Well this is disappointing.” Grumbled Allura

“I thought I was your favorite.” Shiro faked a look of hurt and looked to Keith sad eyes. Keith groaned, obviously irritated.With a groan he pushed away his plate. 

“ _ Thanks guys, _ ” Sarcasm dripped off his tongue. “Okay, I’m done.”

“Are you sure?” Shiro raised a brow.

“Pretty sure.”

“Are you really?”

“Yes.” Keith looked at his plate longingly for a few moments before pulling it toward him again. 

“Knew it.~” Shiro returned the shit eating grin from earlier.

“Shut up.” Keith laughed a bit against his own will. Unable to stop the bubbling laughter coming from his chest, he placed a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound. As the group’s laughter died down Coran’s voice picked up.

“So Shiro, Keith, how’d you two meet?” Keith grit his teeth at the sound of his ‘name’ leaving Coran’s mouth, but kept silent. Shiro didn’t notice thankfully in Keith’s favor. 

“Well…” 

**_~~_ **

Shiro gasped waking up in a small cramped space, it was dark, so very dark. He couldn’t feel anything, at least not yet. As he lay still in the cold metal box for a couple of minutes he began to feel an actual ache in his body. His bones physically hurt, his muscles felt torn and the only thing he could remember prior to waking up was something slicing into his back, slow and sharp digging into his shoulder blades.

“Hey!” A hushed voice called, fear certain in the tone. “Are you okay?” It called again slightly louder this time. The only problem was that Shiro couldn’t find his voice, it felt as though he didn’t have much of one at all. 

Bright ember eyes flashed in the dark, staying on Shiro as he attempted to move. He let out a groan as the pain stretched throughout his entire body, except for the metal monstrosity attached to what had used to be his right arm. Shiro managed to push himself up against what felt like metal bars digging into his back.  _ Have to respond somehow… _

It was dark so sign language was out of the question, maybe… that’d work.. If the owner of the voice knew it at least. He began to tap a small pattern on the steel bars with his mechanical hand.  _ Quiet. Loud. Loud. Short pause. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet. Short pause. Loud. Loud. Loud. Longer pause. Quiet. Loud. Short pause. Quiet. Loud. Quiet. Short pause. Quiet. Longer pause. Loud. Quiet. Loud. Loud. Short pause. Loud. Loud. Loud. Quiet. Quiet. Loud. Short pause. Quiet. Quiet. Loud. Loud. Quiet. Quiet.  _

“It’s Matt.” The voice, Matt, responded almost immediately, “Do you remember anything, Shiro?” If Shiro wasn’t panicked before he certainly was now, either his best friend had locked him up for some God awful reason or his friend was in the same situation he was. All he remembered before the pain was working in the lab with Matt, testing out a maze with a few avian-infused rabbits, and then a funky smell. And then darkness and pain. Like he’d just hit his head pain. And then more pain. The slicing into his back pain. Then he was here, voice gone and relying on morse code to communicate. 

\----

A week passed before he could fully stand without falling, after two days he regained his voice. Matt had explained a bit of what he knew, he didn't know where his father was. He hoped Sam had been placed in the same situation they were in. Prayed actually. Matt wasn't sure about the nauseating pain that he and Shiro had felt on and between their shoulder blades, but the poorly stitch job on both of their back made it pretty clear that something had happened to them. Somewhere at least. 

\----

Another week passed and Matt was taken out of the room, two employees at The School grumbling something about not healing correctly. Shiro had pleaded for them to leave him, not knowing what they'd do him. Though slamming his arm against the metal cage didn't help at all it did earn a holler from one of the employees. 

An hour or two after Matt’s removal, another person was brought into the room across from Shiro with large windows, formerly covered by heavy black curtains. The person had neck length raven hair but Shiro couldn’t get a clear look at the person’s face, they were hiding their face. 

\----

Shiro learned the boy’s name- well his number at least. A-32. He also learned his own. G-214. He was a test subject. An experiment. And he realized that he was the rat, the rabbit, the pig, the animal. Subject G-214, Class G, Experiment two hundred fourteen. There were seven classes before him. Two hundred thirteen in his class alone. He helped make this experiment what it was. 

\---

Keith. The boy’s name was Keith. It took two months to find that out. Two months of prison, of feeling like a dog, the little sunlight they were allowed to get, the shock collar locked around his neck. Two months of deteriorating hope. The bruises on his neck faded slower than his hope did. 

\--- 

Another two months pass by. Shiro learned more, beginning to protect the fire child. They talked through the bars of Shiro’s cage and the hole in Keith’s door. Several more months pass by and they form a brotherly bond.

**_~~_ **

Keith had added a few things here and there. Shiro tried to tell it without giving too much detail. “And yeah well.. that’s how we met.” Shiro finished off by resting his head against his hand. 

A small silence set in, awkward yet comforting. “Shiro, I hope you don’t mind me asking. But you mentioned you were apart of the military, so I’m assuming you were…”

“Human? Before… This? Yeah, I was.” He finished for her, pointing to the reformed scar tissue on his back hidden by his shirt. Er, Hunk’s shirt. 

“Do you mind telling us what happened?” Hunk spoke with caution, not wanting to bring back anything bad for Shiro. He looked reluctant at first, tapping nervously on his prosthetic. He looked to Keith who gave a reassuring smile. He turned to Pidge who looked curious but not demanding.

“Alright, I’ll tell you..” He looked back to Pidge again. “So, you know that after I came back, Matt helped me get a job? Well, I got one but…”

**_~~_ **

He was rushed back to the U.S.. Honorable discharge. He had been captured and tortured. His fellow troops infiltrating the base, and taking their comrades back, alive and dead, they took them back to base. Those who had severe nerve damage and limbs missing were sent back home. Matt had picked him up at the airport, he was silent for the entire ride back to Matt’s place. Matt tried to pick up conversation, just little things here and there. 

“Katie missed you, you know? She was really excited to see you again. Mom and dad even set up your own room in the house. Bae Bae will be so excited, she’s been feeling a bit down lately but this is going to make her so happy!” He paused momentarily. “I missed you man, it was really shitty not having my best friend for two years. I got a job at this research facility though, we’re mixing avian DNA with small animals and seeing if we can give them avian qualities like wings, claws, and beaks even! If you know, when you’re ready to start working again, maybe I could get you a job there? I mean it’s an if but I’m sure they could use a big strong guy like you! There’s even a different section in the building dedicated to mechanical prosthetics! Maybe we could get one for yo-” Matt stopped, realizing that Shiro had turned to look at his bandaged right arm, well what was left of it, while he held no expression it was clear that Matt had crossed a line.

\---- 

After three months with the Holts, Shiro had mostly gotten used to being one armed. He still tried to reach for things only to flinch at his own mistake. Matt had actually convinced him to apply for a position over at the ‘Empire’, kind of a weird building name but not the weirdest he’d ever heard. He started in a week, along with the job Matt had also convinced his to try a prosthetic. That came tomorrow, or tonight it depends on if Matt gets the final product ready. And if Shiro’s ready. He had to go under the knife to get it attached to his nerves so he could actually move the damn thing with no trouble. 

\----

The surgery was a success, his prosthetic functioned wonderfully. It freaked him out at first, the way he could move it just as he had his previous human hand and arm. It was a bit stiff sure, but the prosthetic was still just like a human appendage. 

\----

A year into working for the Empire, Shiro had gotten so used to the prosthetic that he didn’t even think before using it, it was just a part of him then. A cold metal attachment, but it was no less him. 

During one of the first experiments he was a part of, there was an error in measuring chemicals, a beaker exploded and a shard of glass flew into Shiro’s face, right below his safety goggles. It shattered his nasal bone, and he was rushed to the hospital yet again.

\----

Two months into his second year working for the Empire was the time of his capture. Matt had collapsed first, complaining about the smell moments prior, and then Shiro after trying to rush to Matt’s side but falling halfway.

**_~~_ **

The silence that covers the table is uncomfortable this time, moments past and Pidge turned to look up at Shiro. “So… You don’t know what happened to Matt after…?” Shiro placed his hand on her shoulder with a reassuring squeeze.

“No, I’m sorry… I wish I did though.” Shiro’s voice was low this time, soft and empathetic. Without any warning Coran stood, beginning to gather empty plates from the table.

“Hunk, Lance, help me clear the table?”

“Yeah, sure Coran.” Lance nodded, standing up and clearing his side of the table while Hunk followed his lead. The three of them headed into the kitchen to clean up. Allura stood next gathering her own plate, a sweet smile placed on her face as she turned and headed for the kitchen.

“Keith Shiro, Pidge, welcome to the team.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been five months lol
> 
> Art for this chapter done by Tina's little sister!! Her tumblr [here](http://the-hydro-artist.tumblr.com)!
> 
>  
> 
> I'm so sorry pls kill me.


	4. SUSPENDED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHOOPS

So, until further notice BOAFFT will be suspended. Muse and I have decided that we really need to revise/rewrite the whole thing, it's quite honestly a mess right now. But anyway, we'll be starting a new project soon that should be interesting to say the least. Continue being caught up with BOAFFT and upcoming projects on @rambling--muse and @space--weeb on tumblr!

**Author's Note:**

> You can find my tumblr [here](http://space--weeb.tumblr.com)!  
> And Tina's [here](http://the--blue--paladin.tumblr.com)!  
> Thanks for reading!!


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